Stars: Do You Trust Your Friends?

Remixes of songs by rock bands can often be frustratingly ho-hum, to the point where they sometime raise the question of whether the songwriters are just using them to get everyone re-excited about the originals. While it's true that Do You Trust Your Friends—a.k.a. Set Yourself On Fire, a 2004 album by Canadian romantic-pop troupe Stars, as overhauled by some of its well-known pals—does a better job of reminding listeners of the source material's quality than presenting itself as an equal alternative, it's also much more than just an indie-rock record with a bunch of dance beats tossed in. In fact, there are plenty of guitar-bass-drums bands here—The Dears, The Stills, Metric, etc.—so it ends up feeling more like a bizarro covers record than anything else. One exception is Junior Boys' minimalist electro retooling of "Sleep Tonight," but even Trust's highlight can't stop memories from creeping up; in this case, it makes fans realize that Amy Millan sounds a lot more angelic with Stars than she does on her own.